


you've got the talking down, just not the listening

by fandomnerd



Series: Arrowverse Birds of Prey AU [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Batman (Comics), Birds of Prey (Comic), DCU (Comics)
Genre: (steph ships it), F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, OT3, it's all very platonic, laurel and babs are definitely just friends and don't want to kiss each other at all, oliver is bad at feelings and also an overprotective jerk, that's why they keep touching each other and flirting and staring at each other's lips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-05
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-05-18 06:57:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5902909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomnerd/pseuds/fandomnerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver and Felicity come to Gotham. It....doesn't go well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you've got the talking down, just not the listening

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks again to my betas, youngjustus and secretlystephaniebrown.
> 
> Again, this fic is 100% self-indulgence. It takes place about 9 months after Laurel and Babs started working together, to give a better sense of the timeline. 
> 
> Title comes from "King of Anything" by Sara Bareilles, a.k.a. the most Laurel Lance song of all time.

**December 2017**

 

“Nice move, Steph, but you need to go faster, be more agile.” Laurel rolled back onto her feet and dodged a fearsome right hook.

“You’re so strong, Stephanie, but if you want any of those devastating hits to _land_ on your opponent,” Laurel ducked back to avoid a roundhouse, catching Steph’s ankle in her hand, “you need to anticipate your opponent’s moves.” She yanked on Steph’s ankle, flipping her. “Stop underestimating your opponents.” Steph managed to get to her knees before Laurel used her leg to pin her back down to the ground. “And go. Faster.” Laurel rolled so that she was straddling Steph’s waist, and held her forearm just over Steph’s neck—no need to actually choke her, when she’d gotten her point across just fine.

Steph sighed and hit the ground three times. “I get it, I get it, strategy and agility are important too, not just being able to hit really hard and take a beating.”

Laurel rose to her feet in one fluid motion and extended her hand to help Steph up. “I’m not saying those aren’t important things also—if you can outlast your opponent and manage to get a few good hits in, you could do some serious damage. I’m just trying to give you the tools you need so you have more opportunities to land those hits.”

Steph nodded, smiling ruefully at Laurel. “I know, and you’re right and all—it just sucks getting my ass handed to me every day.” She grabbed a towel from her gym bag and wiped the sweat off her neck, and re-tied her ponytail.

Laurel nodded sympathetically and put her hand on Steph’s shoulder. “Better me than someone who actually _wants_ to hurt you.”

Laurel deliberated for a moment, then grinned mischievously at her ward. “You are making progress though—you got me pretty good a couple of times.” She lifted up the bottom of her tank top, drawing attention to the two areas that were already beginning to bruise. “I’d say progress like that means you deserve a treat…I’m thinking burgers and milkshakes. Sound good to you?”

Steph beamed at Laurel. “God, yes. But first I need a shower.”

A couple of hours later, they were just finishing a satisfyingly greasy lunch from the diner around the corner from their apartment.

Laurel’s phone buzzed, her “Private Eyes” ringtone indicating that the text was from Babs.

“911, GA coming to Gotham?” She muttered as she read the text. It took a moment for the meaning to sink in, but when it did her eyes widened and she swore loudly and vividly enough to send Steph’s eyebrows rocketing up.

“Something wrong, bosslady?”

Laurel looked up from her phone and plastered a reassuring smile on her face. “Everything’s fine, Stephanie. I just need to run to Watchtower, so why don’t you head back home?”

Steph waggled her eyebrows. “Ooh, a secret rendezvous with Babs? You don’t need to hide it from me, you know, I’m fully supportive of your relationship.”

Laurel rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing going on between Barbara and I, I don’t know how many times I need to say it to convince you.”

Steph snorted. “Yeah, okay, maybe when you stop looking at her the same way you looked at your burger earlier I’ll believe you.”

“I don’t—what are you even talking about? That doesn’t even make any sense.”

“Whatever you say, bosslady.” Steph flashed her a cheeky grin and left to head back to their apartment with a jaunty wave. Laurel felt a wave of affection wash over her and shook her head fondly. Steph reminded her so much of Sara sometimes.

She shook her head again, this time to get her hair out of her face, and pulled on her motorcycle helmet. She mounted her bike and took off for Watchtower—if Ollie was visiting Gotham, she was going to need all the help doing damage control that she could get.

 

 

 

 

 

Oliver hated Gotham. He’d visited a few times growing up, going to high society dinners and galas with his parents, which hadn’t left the best impression. But beyond that, there was a darkness that permeated the streets, a feeling of hopelessness that always made his trips there unpleasant.

Which begged the question: why had so many of his friends moved there, or at least made it a home away from home? It was incomprehensible.

Felicity’s presence made the trip easier, though. Even though they weren’t together anymore, her friendship still made everything in his world better, easier to bear. Besides, they’d broken up nearly two years earlier—plenty of time for them both to get used to a purely platonic status quo.

“You know, it’s been years, and it’s still funny that I have a _private jet_. I mean, not haha-funny, but you know, weird-how-life-works-out funny.” Felicity babbled as they walked through the airport. He smiled at her, which she didn’t notice, as right at that moment they saw the line of drivers waiting to pick up new arrivals. And right there in the middle was Roy, holding up a sign that read _Smoak_.

“Oh my gosh, Roy!”

Felicity ran towards him to give him a hug, but hesitated at the last second. He grinned at her and huffed out a small laugh. He wrapped her in a hug that she instantly returned. Oliver caught up just as they were pulling back, and gave Roy a manly pat on the shoulder, which was about as much affection as he was comfortable showing another man in public when not under duress.

“What are you doing here, Roy? Not that it’s not great to see you, but the trip was actually supposed to be a surprise.”

Roy snorted. “Surprises. Right. That’s a good one.”

Oliver shot Roy a confused look, but Roy ignored it. “Come on, I’ve got a sick ride waiting outside. Gift from a friend.”

When they got to the car, Oliver’s eyes widened. “Did you maybe forget to mention that your friend is another billionaire? That’s a heck of a car, Roy.”

Roy shrugged, loading Felicity’s giant suitcase into the car. “Well, kind of, I guess. But this car is just a loan, since I needed something bigger than my bike. Where are you guys staying, anyway?”

Oliver deposited his small duffel (which contained his clothes) and his larger suitcase (which carried his bow, arrows, and Green Arrow suit) into the trunk and closed it. “The Gotham Hilton on 12th and Mercer.”

“It had really great yelp reviews.” Felicity chimed in.

Roy chuckled, shaking his head, and opened the doors for them before he climbed into the driver’s seat. “Alright, I’ll get you guys there so you can settle in. Felicity, you still have the number for the burner phone, right?”

Felicity buckled herself in and nodded an affirmative. “Always. Why?”

“Just, text me later to let me know what your plans are while you’re here. Gotham is too similar to Star City in some ways, you know? Don’t want you guys getting caught up in anything—the local capes are pretty territorial.”

Felicity nodded even as Oliver shook his head. “It’s their city, so we’ll play by their rules, but I’m not going to be threatened or intimidated by these guys. Besides, I came here to have a few pointed conversations with some of these masks anyway.”

Roy sucked his teeth and shook his head, pulling out of the private parking spot Oracle had hooked him up with. “You do what you want, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

 

 

 

 

 

Laurel was prepared for the onslaught. She and Babs had worked tirelessly since she’d arrived at Watchtower, preparing for the shitshow that was about to follow. Making sure Roy was the first person Oliver saw had been a smart move—hopefully seeing his former protégé happy and settled in Gotham would get him to lower his hackles a little bit.

Laurel snorted. Sure. Like that would last long. As soon as Oliver found out that Roy and Thea were back together, and beyond that, in a polyamorous relationship with Jason, he would go all Overprotective Big Brother on the situation. Which would be the opposite of helpful, since the whole threesome thing was pretty new. Sure, Jason and Roy had dated for months, and everyone knew about Roy's history with Thea. But the three of them together? Still new and fragile, and definitely not in need of Oliver's particular brand of overprotectiveness.

Laurel sighed and put her head in her hands. She’d already called Thea and Jason to let them know Ollie was in town, so they could prepare as well. Steph was (hopefully) still at home working on her winter homework, like she had said she was when Laurel had texted earlier to check in, but Laurel was willing to bet that Steph had somehow found her way back to Wayne Manor to hang out with Cass. Hopefully Cass, being the responsible one, would encourage Stephanie to do _something_ productive instead of vegging out in front of the TV for the rest of the afternoon; Laurel really hated having to pull the Strict Parent routine.

Babs rolled up next to her and rested a comforting hand on her back. “It’s going to be fine, Laurel. We’re doing everything we can to make this trip go smoothly. If anything goes wrong, it’s his fault, not yours.”

Laurel groaned and lifted her head to look at her friend. “I know, but that doesn’t mean the repercussions of Ollie being Ollie won’t come back to bite me in the ass.”

She paused for a minute, and sighed. “That’s not fair. He is my friend and I care about him a lot. Just, historically, he does tend to run away from the consequences of his actions and leave me to deal with them instead.”

Babs soothed her hand up and down Laurel’s back, pausing to rub her thumb across the nape of her neck. Laurel shivered. “Trust me, then. If Oliver starts something that he can’t finish, I will personally eviscerate anyone who tries to blame you. I know you feel responsible for the actions of everyone in your life, and even more so with Oliver because of your history, but he’s an adult who makes his own decisions, and you are not accountable for him.”

“Like you’re one to talk about feeling responsible for everyone else, miss eye-in-the-sky.”

Babs laughed. “Touché.”

Barbara’s amusement triggered Laurel’s own, and soon they were both giggling like teenagers.

They shared a warm smile as the laughter petered out. Barbara’s stomach growled. “Now come on, I’m starving, which means _you’re_ starving. Why don't you text Cass and tell her to get over here with Steph, and we can order from that new Chinese place that opened on 4 th and Lafayette, see if it’s any good.”

Laurel groaned. “Could we at least _pretend_ that Stephanie listens to me and is at home doing her homework?”

Babs snorted. “There’s the optimistic self-delusion I know and love." 

Laurel groaned again and dropped her head onto the table.

 

 

 

 

 

Oliver and Felicity had had a really nice dinner with Thea and Roy at one of the many upscale Italian restaurants that Gotham housed, and were back at the hotel preparing for the night’s activities. Felicity might have come just to say hi and catch up with their friends, but Oliver had a Mission.

First, he needed to talk to Laurel. He’d have invited her to dinner—Felicity desperately missed her, and he did as well, although of course he expressed it differently—but he needed to have a Conversation with her that probably wouldn’t have gone over very well at dinner, and was generally probably a better conversation to have when they were both suited up.

Oliver changed into his suit in the bathroom, while Felicity set up a couple of laptops at the desk. It had only been a day and he was already longing for their base of operations back home.

He exited, now fully decked out in his Green Arrow gear and nodded a goodbye to Felicity. He’d shot a zipline arrow out the window and was swinging out into the night before he could glimpse the green mask that had taken over Felicity’s computer screens, or hear her frantic cursing.

A few seconds later someone who was decidedly not Felicity spoke in a heavily vocoded voice in his comms. “Welcome to Gotham, Green Arrow. What exactly are you trying to accomplish here?”

Oliver growled low in his throat. “First, how about you tell me who you are, and what you’ve done to Felicity.”

The voice laughed. “I’ve done nothing except out-hack her, Arrow. And you may know me as Oracle.”

Oliver closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “Okay, Oracle, why did you hack into our comms?”

“I’m doing you a favor. Weren’t you looking for Black Canary?"

He sputtered for a second. “How did you…”

“If you need to talk to her, she’s patrolling Crime Alley.”

He paused. “…Thank you, Oracle. I appreciate your assistance. Please refrain from hacking our comms again in the future.”

Oracle made a noise that almost sounded like a snort, and a second later, Felicity’s voice was once again the one in his ear. “Oliver? Are you okay? That was so weird, someone named Oracle just swooped in out of nowhere and completely outmaneuvered me. Whoever they are, they’re an _amazing_ hacker. They didn’t seem to do anything harmful to the system, though.”

He sighed. “Yeah, Oracle just needed to access our comms, it seems. They said they wanted to help me find Laurel, but I don’t trust them. They said she was patrolling in Crime Alley—can you ping her, see if the information was good?”

Felicity laughed. “Please, it’s like you’ve forgotten who I am.” She quieted for a second as she typed, and then let out a proud exclamation. “Got her! Yeah, she’s wayyyy downtown, which I’m assuming is Crime Alley. She’s on 1st street and Avenue C. Looks like she’s protecting a few, uh, ladies-of-the-night? Is that politically correct? Um, that is, she seems to be protecting some prostitutes from some angry johns. She’s kicking butt, though.”

He wasn’t listening anymore though—he was already leaping from rooftop to rooftop chasing her down.

 

 

 

 

 

Steph had, in fact, _not_ been at home, like she’d said she was—she and Cass had been hanging out in Wayne Manor rec room. Steph had insisted on taking advantage of the nearly empty manor and the massive state-of-the-art entertainment center to continue Cassandra’s film education. Today’s movie had been _10 Things I Hate About You_ , which was one of Steph’s all-time favorite romcoms.

Tim had wandered in at one point and attempted to join them, but after he’d spent a full twenty minutes talking about how it was an adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew, Steph had called him a fun-ruiner and kicked him out.

They’d just finished the movie when Cass and Steph got a group-text from Laurel, sent to both them and Jason, telling them to come to Watchtower for dinner. Steph waggled her eyebrows.

“Seems like they’re finally done with their private time.”

Cass furrowed her brow. “Private time?"

Steph laughed. “Babs sent Laurel a text earlier and you should’ve seen how fast she rushed over. And it wasn’t a superhero emergency type thing, because Laurel’s always really open about those, and this time she was really secretive when she rushed off.”

Cass cocked her head thoughtfully for a moment, then shook her head. “Laurel and Babs are not in a romantic relationship yet. I would be able to tell.”

Steph pouted. “Damn, I was really hoping they’d finally gotten their acts together.” She sighed. “Well, we’d better head over for dinner.”

When they arrived, they found Babs and Laurel going through a new menu circling way more items than they were going to actually eat (“When ordering from somewhere new you have to order everything in order to judge it fairly, Stephanie”) while Jason spread out on the couch.

Steph pushed his legs off the couch to make room for Cass and herself. “You’re too big for that to be allowed, Jason.”

He barked a laugh and put her in a headlock, giving her a noogie, which she complained about. Loudly.

When he was done being the most annoying kind-of sort-of older brother on the planet, he fist-bumped Cass, then relaxed back into a new position, making more room for them on the couch. He spread his arm along the back of the couch, and Steph curled up against him. He might be annoying and kind of a jerk sometimes, but he was probably the comfiest pillow she’d ever had.

Babs spotted them and cooed. “Aww, aren’t you adorable.”

Jason picked up the first thing he could find—a pen on a side table next to the couch—and threw it backwards at Babs without looking. She dodged it, laughing, and Laurel shook her head fondly.

The food arrived a short time later, and they all gorged themselves on way too much Chinese food and continued watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix (it was one of the few shows they could all agree on. Jason was especially a fan, and unashamed of that fact). Laurel and Babs had already seen all of it, as had Steph, but Jason and Cass had never seen it before Steph had introduced it to them.

That night, as they readied themselves to patrol, something was…off. Usually Laurel took either Steph or Jason with her on patrol, while the other either attempted a solo patrol (if it was Jason) or teamed up with Cass (if it was Steph). But tonight, Laurel insisted in doing a solo patrol in Crime Alley, and sent Steph, Jason, and Cass to patrol uptown.

Steph had absolute confidence in her mentor-slash-legal guardian’s ability to handle anything that Gotham threw at her, but something didn’t feel right about this. She worried her lip even as she, Jason, and Cass left to follow Laurel’s instructions. Hopefully, Roy or Thea would show up to give Laurel some backup, if she wouldn’t let Steph or Jason have her back.

They were only a few minutes into rooftop tag (obviously the most fun warm-up, and best way to travel when heading all the way uptown) when Oracle’s voice came in in their earpieces.

“Don’t listen to Canary’s instructions—Batman and Robin are handling uptown tonight. Canary may need backup, though. Go to 1st and C, but don’t approach Canary or her fight—just find a spot to hide and wait to provide backup if it becomes necessary.”

“Gotcha, heading down to Crime Alley now.”

She sent a confused look at Jason, who shrugged in return.

When they arrived at the location Babs had given them, they were very confused. Sure, Laurel was taking on a bunch of assholes by herself, and they were bigger and physically stronger than she was, but that was pretty much par for the course. She was handling them just fine.

They waited on a rooftop across the street, watching the action. “This can’t be what Oracle was talking about. Canary doesn’t need backup with these guys,” Steph whispered.

Cass nodded in agreement, and Jason hummed thoughtfully. “O must know something we don’t—because _that_ doesn’t happen ever,” he snarked. Steph rolled her eyes and hip-checked him.

A few minutes later, Laurel had successfully taken out all of the creeps and gotten the prostitutes to safety.

This was, of course, the moment the Green Arrow stumbled onto the scene.

Steph didn’t know much about the Green Arrow. She knew that Laurel had worked with him in Star City, that they used to date (Laurel hadn’t meant to tell her that part, but she’d accidentally referenced it and Steph had prodded at her for _days_ until Laurel caved and gave her more details), and that he had trained Roy.

Laurel was always really apologetic about the lack of details she could give Steph about Star City, but Team Arrow was nearly as anal-retentive about keeping their identities secret as Bruce and Tim were, so Steph could understand having to keep those secrets.

Jason, however, seemed to know more than she did, judging from the violent swear-filled muttering that erupted from his direction as soon as the Green Arrow appeared on the scene.

They leapt to a building closer to where the action was, in order to eavesdrop better.

“You haven’t been back to Star City in a month. It was one thing when you left to train with Shiva, but you have a responsibility—“

Steph’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh no he didn’t,” she whispered. Jason snickered.

“I have a _responsibility_ to the girl who I took in, who has _no one else_. I have a _responsibility_ to train her, to make sure she gets an education, to not uproot her from her life here, and to take care of her. I have a _responsibility_ to the members of my team. I assure you, _Arrow_ , I take my responsibilities very seriously.”

Jason’s shoulders shook with the force of his contained laughter. “Holy shit, Laur. Tear this dude apart.”

Steph fell very silent, suddenly overwhelmed. She knew that Laurel cared about her, obviously. You don’t become the legal guardian of a 17-year-old you don’t give a fuck about. But no one had ever defended her like this, had prioritized her to this extent. A glowy warmth started in her chest and spread through her extremities, made her feel like she could do _anything_.

Cass put her hand on Steph’s shoulder in support, and Steph shot a beaming grin at her best friend.

He scoffed. “You _abandoned_ Star City! How can you even—“

“No, YOU abandoned Star City. Several times over. And every time, I was there to try to pick up the pieces. You have Felicity, and Digg, and Thea still spends twice as much time in Star City as she does in Gotham. Star City is in good hands. I wouldn’t have left if I didn’t truly believe that.”

“I just don’t understand what’s so appealing about this city! What is _drawing_ you all here? Star City is your _home_ , how is it so easy for you to just pick up and leave?”

Thea and Roy, decked out in full Speedy and Arsenal gear, ran up just as Oliver finished speaking.

“Ol—Arrow, stop this. What do you think you’re doing?”

Laurel didn’t look away from the Arrow. “It’s fine, Speedy. I can handle myself. Why don’t you two go continue my patrol?”

Thea looked conflicted. “But he can’t talk to you like that!”

Laurel laughed. “It’s _fine_ , Speedy. This isn’t anything new. I’ve got this.”

Steph looked at Jason, who was clenching his fists, his whole body tense. “How did Canary ever date this jerk?”

Jason spoke, and she knew him well enough by now to know what he sounded like when he was speaking through gritted teeth, even with a full-face mask and a helmet covering his head. “I don’t know, Spoiler. But I can’t stand assholes who talk to women like that.”

Thea shot Laurel one last uncertain look, before coming to a decision. She shot a grappling arrow at the roof of a building and grabbed Roy before swinging off into the night.

Or at least, that was the plan. She obviously hadn’t counted on swinging up onto a roof containing her boyfriend and his two pseudo-sisters. Roy was far less surprised.

Roy sighed and approached the others. “I’m at least pretty sure he doesn’t _mean_ to sound like an asshole. He just, you know, doesn’t handle not being in control very well.”

Thea snorted. “Understatement of the century. Honestly he can be such a judgmental, hypocritical _asshole_ sometimes.”

Jason finally unclenched his hands, his body relaxing slightly. He snorted. “Well, you would know.”

Steph looked between them curiously, but neither of them seemed to want to provide her with answers. She made a mental note to pester them about it later.

Back on the street, Laurel gave the Arrow a very even look. “You have no right to judge me for ‘abandoning’ Star City. Not after your roadtrip with Felicity. _You_ left Star City, and quit being a hero, and had no intention of coming back. So tell me, how was it so easy for _you_ to ‘pick up and leave?’”

Thea snickered. “Nice one.”

“That is not remotely the same thing,” Green Arrow countered, but Laurel would have none of it.

“You’re right. It’s not the same thing. I am doing the right thing, whether you agree with it or not. And you don’t _have_ to agree with it. I am an adult, and I have my own life. Whatever you might think, I don't need your approval.”

They stared at each other in silence for a long moment. Finally, Laurel sighed.

“I do value your friendship. You know how much I care about you. But my whole life can’t revolve around you, Ollie. And I think deep down, you know that, and that’s why this whole thing is bothering you so much.”

Steph gasped. Holy shit. _Ollie_. The Green Arrow was Oliver Queen. Suddenly everything made so much more sense.

Roy shot her a warning look, and Steph held her hands up. “Oh come on, you know I’m not going to tell anyone.”

Roy stared her down for another second, before relaxing. He shot her a rueful smile. “It’ll be easier to talk about Star City now, I guess.”

Oliver sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “You’re happy here?”

Laurel smiled. “I really am.”

Oliver nodded. “Well, okay, then.”

And then, because the Universe loved to fuck with them all, Batman showed up, all menacing and growly and “what are you doing in my city." 

Well, there was no way _that_ was going to end well.

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, a very apologetic-looking Oliver Queen and a perky blonde woman in glasses showed up at Laurel and Steph’s front door.

The blonde beamed at her. “You must be Stephanie! Laurel’s talked about you so much.”

Steph grinned back. “Call me Steph, please. And you’re…Felicity, right?”

Felicity nodded. Oliver coughed.

Steph’s eyes widened. “Oh, right, come in.” She stepped back from the door, glaring daggers at Oliver as he walked through. He shifted uncomfortably.

Laurel padded down the stairs, still in her pajamas. Laurel typically slept in on weekends anyway, and after a night like last night, Steph hadn’t wanted to wake her up. Of course, even just having rolled out of bed, Laurel looked gorgeous and put-together. Steph didn’t know if that was a thing that came with maturity, or if it was just a Laurel thing, but she was incredibly envious regardless. Steph unfailingly woke up with bedhead from hell, her skin puffy from sleep, and a single thread of drool crusted on her cheek.

“Steph, who was at the—“

She cut herself off when she spotted Felicity, her face stretching into a beaming grin. “Felicity, hi! I didn’t know you guys were planning on coming over this morning! I’d have, you know, gotten dressed first.”

“It’s one in the afternoon,” Oliver pointed out.

Felicity elbowed him in the side. “And by that he means we didn’t give you any warning that we were visiting, so it’s seriously fine, don’t worry about it. Besides, as if you could ever look _bad_.”

Laurel laughed and wrapped Felicity in a hug. “I’ve missed you.”

Felicity squeezed her hard. “I’ve missed you too, you have no idea.”

Steph grinned at them. “Are any of you hungry? Laurel can’t cook, but I can make some pretty killer waffles.”

Felicity pulled back from Laurel and smiled at Steph. “Waffles sound great! Thanks, Steph.”

Steph escaped into the kitchen. Sure, waffles were always good, but they were also mostly an excuse in this case. If she didn’t get away from Oliver soon, she was going to do something stupid, like punch him.

Unfortunately, her plan backfired. Oliver, obviously also eager to leave Laurel and Felicity to catch up on their own, came to the kitchen to help her out. She rolled her eyes towards the ceiling, wondering why the universe was testing her like this. She already knew the universe had it out for her (thanks, gravity), but this seemed like a bit much.

“Anything I can do to help?”

Steph gritted her teeth. “Yeah, you can stop being a jerk to Laurel.”

He looked taken aback. “What?”

Steph glared at him. “You heard me.”

“Listen, I don’t know what you think you know about Laurel and I, but we have a. Complicated history. It’s not as simple as you think it is.”

Well, she didn’t have a choice now. The universe clearly _wanted_ this to happen.

She pulled back and decked him right in the face.

A second later, Laurel and Felicity ran into the kitchen, drawn by the sounds of both Oliver and Steph swearing. Oliver was clutching his nose, while Steph cradled her hand to her chest.

“What the hell is his face _made_ of?” Steph asked at the same time that Oliver said, “Your student has a hell of a right hook.”

Laurel stared at them in silence for a moment in utterly baffled silence, and then did the only thing she could do. She burst into giggles, collapsing against Felicity, who was doing the same.

Laurel could only think of one thing to say.

“I can’t _wait_ to tell Babs.”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so it may appear at first glance as if I've been especially harsh on Oliver.
> 
> However: a) everything he says in this fic is exactly the kind of bullshit he says in canon, b) I do actually understand his character, however little I like him, and everything he says is actually born of good intentions. he just misses Laurel, and is terrible at expressing emotions, and that combined with his need to control everyone in his life, as well as his superiority complex and his abandonment complex, means that his preferred form of expressing complex emotion is to give the target of the complex emotion (especially if that target is a woman) a patronizing, poorly-phrased lecture. And c) keep in mind that pretty much everyone in this fic is automatically going to be on Laurel's side, and blindly hate Oliver because of the way he's treated her in the past, regardless of whether or not his behavior has improved. They don't know him, and they love Laurel. It's not complicated.
> 
> That being said, if you still have a problem with the way I portray Ollie: I literally don't care. I hate him, always have. If you like him, great. Good for you. But that is not what this fic, or this series, is for. You have an entire tv series kissing his ass. I'm not going to do it, too.


End file.
